Tuesday, December 22, 2009

I can't help but a tiny bit envious of John King's recent trip to Hawaii. (I recently had to dig my car out from under over a foot and a half of snow, so a warm tropical breeze sounds very inviting at the moment.) On Sunday's State of the Union, the CNN Diner segment was about the impact the recession has had on the island:

I can't say I'm as envious of King's trip to the top of a wind turbine for his American Dispatch report on alternative energy usage in the state.

It was an energy audit at work that first nudged Susan Chandler to think green.

"The first thing I did was change all my light bulbs" to energy-efficient models, Chandler said during a recent visit to her Honolulu home. "Then I started tracking my energy bill."

She began walking into rooms her husband and son had just left to turn off the lights. A significant cutback in the use of the clothes dryer was another step. Still, Chandler said she wanted to do more.

"So I put up the panels."

Six solar panels were installed on the angled roof of her hillside home, which has a breathtaking view of downtown Honolulu, Waikiki Beach and the famous Diamond Head rock formation.

"We've got terrific tax credits in the state, as well as from the federal government, so it's not that expensive," Chandler said. "And I'm into just saving energy."

And into saving money.

Hawaii's electricity rates are the highest in the nation. A year ago, Chandler's monthly power bill topped $100. Her most recent bill was $36.

That's a big financial plus, but what Chandler said she enjoys the most is the evidence of how she is cutting her carbon footprint.